Are you considering using a weighted hug in the classroom for your sensitive child? Or are you a teacher and are you wondering which weighted hug is suitable and how to use the weighting? Then be sure to read on for our tips!
What does a weighted hug do?
A weighted hug helps to calm your brain and body through deep pressure. Your brain produces the substances serotonin and dopamine, this helps your body to relax and give a feeling of happiness! You can also concentrate better with a weighted hug! In order to learn, you need to be able to process stimuli well. You have certainly experienced that you absorb less when you are tired. And even if you are ‘hyper’. Learning and alertness are therefore closely related. With weighted hugs, children can self-regulate their alertness.
Just like a weighted pillow, or blanket, a weighted hug puts deep pressure on the body or a body part. This gives you extra sensory information about your body posture. Children who exercise a lot because they are looking for more stimuli, get those stimuli in a different way. A weighted hug helps you to get in better contact with your own body so that you experience peace. In addition, deep pressure on your body can cause your alertness to be stimulated or muffled.
How can deep pressure or your weighted hug help?
Deep pressure with a weighted hug has the following positive effects:
• prevent overstimulation
• reduce unrest
• prevent tantrums
• dealing with stress
• calm down in case of anxiety/panic
• improve concentration
• fall asleep faster
For which children can a weighted hug help?
Children with Autism
Children with autism often have a hard time at school because of the many stimuli, they can hardly close themselves off from all stimuli and quickly become overstimulated! A weighted hug can then offer peace of mind in difficult or exciting moments!
Children with ADHD/ADD
Children with ADHD/ADD find it difficult to concentrate and are almost always in motion, fidgeting, restless behavior, disturbing others out of boredom or too few stimuli, a weighted hug can offer a solution to these difficulties.
In Sleep / Anxiety Disorders
Children with sleep and anxiety disorders should not be underestimated! Sleep deprivation makes it more difficult to learn and concentration quickly disappears… A weighted hug can also be taken into bed for a better sleep!
Sensory Integration Disorder (SI)
Children with sensory information processing problems (SI) have difficulties in various sensory areas, you can learn to make their body feel and assess their body in space through a weighted hug, it can also help them to relax.
Children with Down Syndrome
Children with Down syndrome can also often appear restless or keep going, a weighted hug can be a godsend in various areas, it can help them to relax and stay seated during class.
Children with Gilles de la Tourette
Children with tics make uncontrolled movements with their bodies or say things, without wanting to, it is an impulse! A weighted hug can then help to reduce or suppress the tics. They can also feel their body better.
Highly Sensitive Children (HSP)
Highly sensitive students are often very sensitive and pick up all signals and stimuli from people and places. This can be exhausting. A weighted hug can then offer comfort and peace, when they are tense, or just need to de-excite or be alone to defend everything in depth.
Children with intellectual disabilities
Children with intellectual disabilities can be very different, including in their stimulus processing or character, or additional disorders or behavioral problems. Giving a weighted hug instead of expressing behavior negatively (such as head banging when they are angry or upset) can help to use alternative tools such as a weighted hug, this can provide a lot of peace and comfort!
Buying a weighted hug, what should you pay attention to?
The weight of the weighted hug
See what weight is suitable for your child, usually from 1kg to 4kg (approximately). A good rule of thumb with a weighted blanket is 10% of body weight. A weighted hug does not lie all over the body, so you choose a little less weight than the given rule of thumb. I recommend a weighted hug of 2 kilos for children in the lower school, for upper school students one of 3 kilos can be purchased.
Cleaning weighted cuddly toy
If the weighted cuddly toy goes to school, it is nice to choose a model that can also be washed or cleaned. Also for teachers who keep a weighted hug or pillow in the classroom to support students, a washable model, or model around which a cover can be used, is recommended.
Introduction of the weighted hug in the classroom
Some students may find a weighted hug childish, maybe you can give a short explanation, so that the children know that the weighted hug is helpful! You can make the weighted cuddly toy available at school in, for example, a quiet corner or while reading aloud in class.
How and when do you use the weighted hug?
A weighted hug is only effective if it is used for short periods of time. After all, with long use, your child is used to the stimulus and the effect decreases. So do not put on your lap all day, better is 20 minutes to 30 minutes for 2 to 3 moments a day. Deep pressure or your weighted hug will continue for another 1 hour, even if you no longer have the weighted hug on your lap or on your lap!
You can use the weighted hug well when rest is needed in the classroom or when more concentration is required from your child or student. For example, while reading or listening to an instruction. But the weighted hug is also useful to use when there are exciting moments such as a test, give the weighted hug to your student, so there will be less tension!
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